I went to flip down the rear seat(behind passenger seat) and the black pull down strap is gone. The rear seat behind the driver works fine. I have tried various methods to release the catch but could not get it. Is there a special tool the body dept has at the dealership for this?

Believe me the strap is gone...........it is not tucked in along side the seat. Any ideas would be appreciated.........................thanks........ ...........

 

Well the strap isn't gone.
It's gone inside the seat and I don't know how you can get it out easily.
The only thing I can think of is to back out the striker bolts from the trunk side with vise grips.

 

I'd take a look at it from the backside, inside the trunk, to see if the strap is visible there. If you can't see it there, take a flashlight and pull apart the cushions where the strap should be with your hands, you should be able to find it with a little bit of work.

 

I don't think so Tim (Keith), the strap on mine is on the side and would go inside the seat itself.
Never to be seen again.

 

Ok, just so we're on the same page, I went out in the garage and took a closer look at my '08 GT. Four of our cars have folding rear seats and they all operate a little differently, so I wanted to make sure I knew what we are talking about. I was initially getting it confused with the back seat on my '01 Bullitt.

I see how the strap can slide into the side/back of the seat and not be accessable. I got to looking how the strap/latch system operates. If one side of the seat can be folded down, you can look at how the latch operates. The strap pulls a spring loaded catch from a post to release the back of the seat. With one side down, I could reach my hand around behind the other seat to the latch area, pull the closed seatback forward a little with my other hand, and with a little feeling around, got a finger on the catch, and was able to release it by hand from behind. I have average size hands, so most people should be able to do this with a little bit of work. I got it in less than five minutes. If both straps are stuck inside, you'll have to get to it from inside the trunk, but it should still be doable.

 

Good thinking, this should work:
If you have larger hands like me maybe a long thin screwdriver might work (but take a little longer).

 

When I did my 2010 leather seat cover install I inadvertantly forgot to pull one of the straps through correctly and it slipped behind the hard plastic backrest cover. If you can get it unlatched it can be retrieved.

 

Used a bent coat hanger to fish the strap out, how in hell did it get into the seat back cushion???
All is well in Mustang land now.....................just turned 40K on my 2005 GT. Saw the 2011 ad
on Idol last nite.................do I really want a car payment again?????????????? Only if they come back with a Mach 1...........................thanks for the ideas guys............